Set your mind on Christ

(Colossians 3:1-2)

One of the greatest struggles that exists in the current world is fear and desperation. We are seeing the impact of COVID-19 continuing to climb unabated and the way it is impacting economies globally, driving even more fear and uncertainty.

If there is one word that seems to be the catch cry for this pandemic and all it stands for, it’s: unprecedented.

But even though there may be no precedent for the things that are happening, at least not in living memory, for Christians it should not be a surprise. And how we deal with it all personally is covered in this scripture I am looking at today.

Not of this earth

First, let us look at what this scripture says.

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)

In the first verse we see that we are not of this earth. Through baptism and by faith we have died and been raised with Christ, and we sit at the right hand of God with Christ. This is how we need to think about ourselves.

Through Jesus Christ we have become new creations and are now the children of God. We are no longer citizens of this earth but citizens of the kingdom of God.

So as citizens of God’s kingdom our focus should be on the things that matter to our King. We are meant to be serving His wishes and following His words, not the ways of this world. And we are no longer of this world, even though we exist here physically. We are now in God’s kingdom with Jesus Christ in the spirit. That is how we must now think. We must recognise we are in His kingdom and His care.

When your mind is set on the problems

This brings us to the second verse.

We are called now to set our minds on the things that are above, that is, of the kingdom of God. You need to set your mind on Christ and not on the things of this earth.

And when we do that we have peace.

Consider for a moment the things of this earth at the current time in 2020. This COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the globe, and at the time of writing, there is no end in sight. The situation is getting worse every day, and to make it worse people are fighting in supermarkets, ignoring Government rulings designed to try and suppress the spread of the disease and arguing with those who are trying to protect the wider community.

The upshot of this is that fear has spread, people are desperate, depression is rampant, the global economies are falling dramatically, and hope is being lost.

Do you suppose that if you set your mind on these things that you will feel refreshed, upbeat, positive, and hopeful for the future? No way. Focusing on negativity will cause a downward spiral that will only feed these things. And that leads to more despair and worse. In fact it can at its worst lead to suicide, and there have been reports of significant increases in recent times.

An article I read recently stated that one trauma centre in the USA has seen a years worth of suicide attempts in just four weeks. They attribute this to the issues of self-isolation and lock-downs required as part of the attempts to suppress the spread of the disease.

So clearly focusing on the problems and negativity will not make it better.

Set your mind on Christ

The alternative is to do as the scripture today tells us. Set your mind on Christ. And we do this by setting our minds on the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Setting your mind on the positives rather than the negatives is always going to be a good thing. Even the proponents of positive thinking say the same.

But just being positive is not enough. Going down the “Pollyanna” path will not lead to peace. It tends to be just a false facade that can and will crumble under pressure.

But when you set your mind on Christ, you are not just being positive but are working towards a solution. To set your mind on Christ is to put the issues into God’s hands for a resolution and to let Him lead the way.

When you set your mind on Christ you are putting it into His hands to fix. Knowing this then leaves you in peace. Accepting that whatever happens is in the will of God because He has a grand plan for ALL things, including COVID-19, is the first step to accepting that what is happening is meant to happen.

How to set your mind on Christ

This raises the obvious question: how do you set your mind on Christ?

This is part of the process of walking in the Spirit. First, there is prayer. We take all of our concerns, problems, fears and issues to God in prayer and ask for His help and His intervention. Each time we have the feelings of despair rise up in us, we need to immediately take those thoughts and hand them to the Lord in prayer.

And the scripture tells us the same thing:

We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)

This is the power of walking in the Spirit in practice. Taking every though captive to obey Christ means to literally set your mind on Christ. When the bad thoughts come up, you can pray over them, hand them to Jesus and refocus your thinking onto something good.

So what can we do to refocus our thoughts onto something good? You can read the scriptures and meditate on some of those to fill your mind with what is good rather than despair and desperation. As the scripture tells us:

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

There is great encouragement to be found in the words of the Bible. This verse tells us that we can be encouraged and so find hope. And if there is anything that is needed today it is hope, especially the hope of Jesus Christ.

But what else could you do to set your mind on Christ? Well ultimately it is about what and how you are thinking, and this scripture sums it up best.

6 Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)

You can think about ANYTHING that is good, true, honourable, just, and so on. Anything that is of the Lord and worthy of praise you can think about in order to replace the thoughts of despair that creep up to take away your peace.

This could be to watch the way God paints the sky at sunset. It might be to look at the wonder of creation in a garden or forest or the mountains. It might be to gaze at the stars in the night sky and realise that the same God who made all of those things is the same God who cares about you as an individual and a person.

The whole point here is to set your mind on Christ and the things of God. This is the way to overcome the despair that is in the world and to remember that we are not of this world. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

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